10 Pro Pedalboards Revealed

We recently combed through all the pedalboards we’ve seen in
the last year of Rig Rundown video shoots to bring you the
10 most stacked rigs we’ve encountered across a range of genres. When you’re done here, be sure to head over to our Facebook
page, where we’re offering you a chance to win half of the ’boards
detailed in this feature (the ones marked with a “Win It!” icon).
Here’s the link: facebook.com/premierguitar

Petrucci’s satellite pedalboard
may seem the least stacked
on the surface, but that’s because
most of his firepower is packed
in the Fractal Audio Axe-Fx II
that resides in the effects loop of
his Mesa/Boogie Mark V amps.
His guitar signal is split at a
Framptone A/B box into either a
Fishman Aura 16 into a DI (for
acoustic) or into a Dunlop Cry
Baby Rackmount wah before
hitting the pictured satellite
pedalboard on top of his rack.

“When we first built this
rig, we did everything in the
Axe-Fx, and he missed having
pedals he could mess around
with,” explained tech Matt
“Maddi” Schieferstein.

The board is ever changing—
particularly in the overdrive
spot that was inhabited
by a Keeley-modded Ibanez
TS-9 Tube Screamer when we
caught up with Dream Theater.
“He’ll actually have me change
it during the show sometimes,”
Schieferstein told us. The Carl
Martin Compressor/Limiter
earned a place on Petrucci’s board
after a big compressor shootout
prior to the band’s “A Dramatic
Tour of Events” fall 2011 tour.
Schieferstein explained that in
the end, the Carl Martin was
chosen because Petrucci liked its
compression and attack, without
it being overpowering.

From the board, the signal
goes into an interface that connects
to Petrucci’s floor controller
(an Axess Electronics FX-1),
which controls the satellite board
and the Axe-Fx II. Petrucci’s Axe-
FX II is set with one preset that
has a chorus, three delays, and a
harmonizer set to his preferences.
Also on the floor are a wah pedal,
which controls the rackmount
Cry Baby, an Ernie Ball Volume
Pedal, and a Boss TU-2 tuner.

Rebecca Dirks graduated from the University of Iowa with degrees in journalism and art, and joined Premier Guitar as an intern in 2007. She lives in the Iowa City area with her husband, two giant dogs, and more cats than are appropriate to mention. When not petsitting, she enjoys challenging herself in the kitchen, watching the Packers dominate, and discovering new music or rediscovering old favorites.

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